The First Continental CongressThe First Continental Congress occurred in 1774 in Philadelphia. This was a meeting for all the delegates of the 13 colonies, though some didn't attend. This meeting was to determine whether or not to go to war with Great Britain.They ended up compromising, they stopped all trade with Britain and alerted the colonial militias to get ready for war.
|
Lexington And ConcordOn the night of April 18, 1775 British soldiers head out to Concord to destroy a rumored colonial weapon store house. While the British were going to Concord word got out to the Sons of Liberty and they set off on horseback to alert others that the British were coming. At dawn the British troops reached Lexington, where already 70 minutemen awaited them. A shot rang out,better known as 'The Shot Heard 'round the World', that nobody to this day knows which side shot, and the battle began and finished with the victory of the British. Then the British went to Concord, destroyed all the weapons, and on their way back they got a surprise attacked by the colonists.
|
Second Continental Congress On May 1775 the delegates met again for another continental congress.They were, once again, deciding whether to go to war with Britain or to keep peace. They again compromised. They declared the Massachusetts militia to be the continental army, but didn’t break away from Britain
|
Battle At Bunker Hill
The colonial forces dug into Breed's Hill surprising the the British. They were low on supplies year they still managed to get through by throwing rocks and other things at the British. It was a tragic victory for the British because they suffered more than 1000 casualties . This battle proved that the colonists were at level with the British.
|
Common Sense
Pros and Cons for each Army
Pros for the Continental Army
*Fought for something they believed in. *Had foreign help Cons for the Continental Army *The soldiers didn't have much experiance and weren't very equipped *Had a very small navy compared to the British. |
Pros for the British Army
*Had experience and were well equipped *Very big and powerful army Cons for the British Army *Had to cross the Atlantic Ocean *Used mercenaries as soldiers |
Early Defeats.
The Patriots had an early defeats in both Canada and New York. In Canada, the Patriots wanted to make Canada the 14th colony, so they took a chance and awaited a snowstorm that would provide them with cover for a bold advance against Quebec. Their attacked failed and along with them went the hopes of taking Canada. In New York, the Patriots arrived at New York and waited for the British arrival. When the British arrived, both of the armies fought and fought until the Patriots had to retreat all the way back to New Jersey.
|
Battle of Trenton
Washington took a huge chance because he knew that if he didn't have a victory, he would lose his army. So, on Christmas night of 1776 the continental army rowed across the Delaware River and reached the enemy camp.They took more than 900 prisoners and in the morning attacked. The redcoats fled from Princeton and Washington had saved his army.
|
Battle of Saratoga
The British had this planned out. Burgoyne's army would invade in through Canada, capture Fort Ticonderoga once again,and then travel to Albany. There General Howe would meet them upstream the Hudson river, strangling New England.For Burgoyne's part everything went according to plan, but General Howe had his own ideas. Instead of following the plans Howe sailed up the Chesapeake Bay and took control of the colonial capital of Philadelphia. Meanwhile, as Burgoyne headed to Albany the Patriots randomly attacked the redcoats so by the time he was close to Saratoga he was outnumbered. Then a fight broke out and the Americans scored a huge victory. This victory gained the colonists foreign help from the French.
|
Battle of Yorktown
This battle was a little interesting because General Washington had ordered his troops to surround the British army at Yorktown while the French naval kept watch over the Chesapeake bay preventing anybody from rescuing the trapped army led by General Cornwallis.The battle went on for many weeks until Cornwallis surrendered. This was the last battle of the Revolutionary war.
Treaty of Paris
This treaty was the official document declaring the independence of the United States. This treaty also set Americas borders.